This huge man reared back and blinked, his hand getting tight and his voice going hoarse. “Not like you?”
Be strong. You can handle anything, Luna.
I nodded. “We can call it whatever you want. I’m fine with it, Mr. Ripley. You’re not the first person to dislike me or not want me around. It’s fine.”
He let go of my hand so quickly I didn’t have time to react before the man in front of me cut the distance between us so much there was no distance.
That big hand that had been right by my face moved like lightning, his palm cradling the back of my head. Before I could finish my sentence, before I could even suck in a breath, Lucas Ripley dipped his face close to mine. “I don’tdislikea single fucking bone in your body, Luna.”
And cue my mouth shutting and probably my eyes bugging out too.
“You drive me fucking nuts—”
“That’s not very nice,” I said before I could stop myself.
I didn’t miss the way his eyebrows shot up. “Let me finish, yeah?”
I shut my mouth.
“But I miss the fuck out of you, messing with me all the damn time, provoking me way too much, always fucking laughing and smiling and being a pain in my fucking ass.” What had to be his little finger grazed the nape of my neck as I stood there. “I said some mean shit to the one person in this fucking world that—”
He stopped, and if it wouldn’t have been for his Adam’s apple bobbing, I wouldn’t have realized he was struggling with his words. Struggling with whatever he was trying to tell me. Confusing the freaking hell out of me.
“You. I would never want to hurt you,” he breathed, beaming me with that intense gaze. “Not for nothing. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I knew your family, but I didn’t exactly want you to know how or why I did either. You get me?”
Just as I opened my mouth, his hand moved around and his thumb landed over my lips, shutting me up.
“I swear to Jesus Christ if you say something about work or about how you won’t fucking quit, I’ll close your mouth my own goddamn self in another way,” Rip told me.
Thathad me shutting my mouth.
Thathad my heart goingwhack, whack, whack,what the hell is happening?
“What?” was all I could crow.
“I don’t give a single fuck how many other companies offer you jobs, or how happy you are at the shop. Me and the old man wouldn’t let you go anywhere,” he said, his gaze intent.
“I just said I don’t want to go anywhere in the first place…,” I muttered, trying my best to ignore how fast my heart was going because of the way he was looking at me.
At the way he was even just talking to me.
Rip’s cheeks twitched, and his voice was even lower as he whispered, “Good.” The pinky he had on the back of my neck moved across the skin there lightly, just grazing it. “I don’t want you leaving me alone. I was pissed and you were there, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I don’t want to hurt you. You hear me?”
I did and I didn’t.
I was there and, like always, I was an easy target. That was nothing new.
But I knew words held an edge of truth to them always.
I also knew that I had been right in thinking that I had wasted my time mooning over this man who would never be more than my boss. He did feel bad, and that was nice, but that was it. That was all. I had given him the tools he used to hurt me.
And I really was tired of hurting, but that was on me. I just wanted to move past this.
Warm, sweet breath washed over my face as he leaned in even closer to me. Bringing him so close I had to hold my breath. “You forgive me for fucking up?”
Did I?
I only had to pause for a moment before I knew my answer. “Sure.”
